Prophet Muhammad

Creative ideas and activities 5-7 years

www.islamfromthestart.com

Contents The Life of the Prophet Prophet Muhammad (SAW) Born in Makkah Family Tree Pictorial Timeline The Year of the Elephant Allah is The Most Powerful Iqra Revelation of the Quran Migration of the Prophet The Spider The Helpers of Allah Blessings Are For Sharing The Prophet's Mosque

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The Way of the Prophet Obey the Prophet Live Like the Prophet Hadith Object Bag Kindness of the Prophet Be a Bucket Filler Manners of the Prophet Smile

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Contents Follow the Prophet Day 1: I Do Not Waste Day 2: I Eat Good Food Day 3: I Am Helpful Day 4: I Am Thankful Day 5: I Am Clean and Tidy Day 6: I Talk to Allah Day 7: I Am Good to My Parents

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Celebrate The Prophet Balloon Banner Quiz Salawaat Sweet Blessings Pass the Parcel Build a Mosque Game

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Resources

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Prophet Muhammad (SAW) Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born in Makkah on Friday 17th Rabiul Awwal. They did not have a calendar like the one we use now but instead would name the year after an important event that had happened. Just before the Prophet was born, an army of elephants had attacked the Ka'bah and so the year was named Aamul Feel, the year of the elephants. His father Abdullah died before he was born. His mother Amina died when he was only 6 years old. He was looked after by his grandfather Abdul Muttalib and then by his uncle Abu Talib who was also the father of Imam Ali. So the Holy Prophet and Imam Ali grew up as cousins and brothers together. They were very close. All the people of Makkah respected Muhammad even before he had even become a Prophet. The people of Makkah knew that he always spoke the truth. They would call him As Sadiq, the honest one. They also used to call him Al Amin, the one you can trust, because he was was always careful when looking after people’s things. Prophet Muhammad used to work as a shepherd and would also travel with his uncle Abu Talib when they would go on business trips. When he grew up, he married Bibi Khadija. She was a very good lady who gave all her money to Islam and supported the Prophet. They had a daughter, Lady Fatema (as).

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When he was 40 years old Angel Jibrael revealed the first words of the Quran to him. Prophet Muhammad was the final Messenger and he spent the next 23 years teaching the people about Allah and Islam. The Prophet was troubled by a lot of people who didn’t want to listen to him. They would put thorns in his path, throw rubbish on him and call him horrible names, but Prophet Muhammad never gave up. He said to the people, I am only telling you what Allah has said. I don’t want to be famous or rich. The only thing I ask from you is that you love my family, the Ahlulbayt. Before he died, the Prophet gathered the people in a place called Ghadeer Khum and told them that Imam Ali (as) would be their leader after him. He also told them to make sure they always follow two very important things: the Quran and the Ahlulbayt. He died on 28th Safar in Madina when he was 63 years old. He was buried by Imam Ali (as) in his house which was joined to the mosque of Madinah.

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Born in Makkah

Born in Makkah Near the Ka’bah Into the arms of Amina Was Muhammad the final Prophet The mercy to mankind Ya Muhammad, Ya Muhammad Ya Muhammad Mustafa O Muhammad, O Muhammad The Final Messenger Abdul Mutalib was his grandfather Abdullah was his father Abu Talib was his uncle Amina was his mother Come to Islam! Come and submit! To the Oneness of Allah! Come to Eemaan! Come and have faith! Have faith in the Ahlulbayt From Muslim Rhymes by QFatima

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Family Tree

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Pictorial Timeline Make a simple masking tape timeline on the wall and have the children mark the events with images as you go through the life of the Holy Prophet. For younger children, use fewer images to present a simplified life history.

Download images and timeline template online 8

Life of the Prophet (SAW) Older children can divide and arrange the images into three parts or use the images to write their own brief timeline. 0 - 40 years 40 - 53 years 53 - 63 years The children can use the timeline to help them deliver a short talk outlining the life of the Prophet.

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The Year of the Elephant In the Quran there is a surah called Al Feel, which tells us the story about the People of the Elephant, who tried to destroy the Ka’bah. Elephants are the largest and strongest land animals in the world. Yet from the surah we learn that birds and tiny stones killed the massive elephants. It shows us that ‘Allah has power over everything’ (35:1). Allah has the Power to even knock down huge elephants just by using birds and stones.

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Allah Is The Most Powerful Allah brings the sun up each day, He makes it rain and snow and can move the heaviest mountain or the biggest sea! Allah is the one who gives power to the wind to blow. Imagine! Without wind, the clouds would not move, without clouds we would not have rain and without rain we would not have water. The All Powerful Allah controls everything! Blow the windmill and watch it spin, or hold it in a windy place. Think about who gave the air power to move things? If the air is so powerful, what about Allah who created the air?! Allah is Al Qadir, the Most Powerful!

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Iqra The Holy Prophet used to spend a lot of time in the cave of Hira on the Mountain of Noor. He would sit quietly to pray, think and remember Allah. When he was 40 years old, Angel Jibrael came to him and recited the first five ayaats of Surah Alaq. The first word of the Quran revealed to the Prophet was 'Iqra' which means read. Over the next 23 years, Allah revealed the complete message of Islam to His final messenger Prophet Muhammad through the Quran. The Quran contains the complete set of instructions, and all the steps needed, to live in the right way. We must spend time to read and understand the Quran so that we can become our best. Create a a calm and special space, a dhikr tent, to read and reflect.

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Revelation of the Quran Create a visual scene to talk about how Angel Jibrael brought down the Quran to the Prophet on the night of Qadr.

To make a standing Angel, draw around the child's hand for wings and cut out an outline for the body and head, which can be decorated with glitter. Attach to a tissue roll to make it stand. Form a halo using a pipe cleaner and stick onto the tissue roll to float over head. To make a Quran stand, use two cardboard strips. Cut them halfway through and slot together. Make a small book by folding cardboard and covering with foil.

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Migration of the Prophet In the city of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad and his followers went through much suffering and hardship and it was no longer a safe place to live. They had to leave their homes and move away to the city of Madinah. On the night that the plan was made to move, Imam Ali (as) slept in the Prophet's bed so that the Prophet could escape in the dark. The Prophet went to the Mountain of Thaur. In the morning when the people came to the Prophet's house to kill him they were shocked and furious at finding Imam Ali (AS) in the Prophet's bed. Immediately they started looking for the Prophet and came right up to the mouth of the cave in which he was hiding. A spider had built a web over the entrance to the cave. The people did not look inside as the web was not broken. The spider had helped to keep the Prophet safe.

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The Spider Ankaboot is the Arabic name for a spider. There is even a Surah in the Quran by that name. Spiders have 8 legs and most have 8 eyes as well! Spiders do not have a nose or ears. They sense movement and sounds through tiny hairs on their body. Spiders spin webs using a sticky material from their body called silk. Spider webs trap insects for the spider to eat. Hole punch around a paper plate and weave a web across it using string or wool.

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The Helpers Of Allah The Muslims moving away with the Prophet from Makkah were called Muhajir, the ones who had made the Hijra, the migration. They were now homeless and almost penniless because they had to leave everything behind. The people of Madinah were very kind and welcoming. They shared their homes, wealth, families and all the blessings Allah had given them to help those in need. They were called the Ansar, the helpers. The Holy Prophet (SAW) paired each Muhajir with one Ansar and said they were like brothers. The generous Ansar helped their new brothers settle, feel safe and start a comfortable life in a new city. Allah praises them in the Quran, telling us how they showed love to the migrants, even giving them preference over their own needs. Allah calls these people the successful ones. (59:9)

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Blessings Are For Sharing Help children to experience and understand why it is our responsibility to share the blessings we have. Divide some sweets between the children, giving some more than others and leaving a few without any. Explore how the children with sweets could choose to leave the others 'poor’, or realise that they have more than the others and share their extra blessings with those that don't have any. Allah has made the Earth large enough for everyone to live comfortably and provided enough food for everyone to eat well. It is our responsibility to ensure no one is left without, by sharing the blessings Allah has given us. When we all behave in this way and share what we have, we help to build a more peaceful world. We must do what we can to ensure blessings like food, water, clothes, and toys are made available to everyone.

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The Prophet's Mosque Madinah is called the city of the Prophet. The Prophet's house was joined to the mosque and it is where he is now buried. Use cardboard boxes to build a model mosque. For the dome: 1) Make some paper mache paste by mixing 1/2 glue 1/2 water. 2) Paste over a blown up balloon and cover with strips of newspaper. 3) Leave to dry completely overnight before painting. 4) Cut the balloon in half and paint. 5) Assemble together and light up the mosque with fairy lights.

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Obey the Prophet Prophet Muhammad never gave up. He spent 23 years teaching the people about Allah and Islam. He said to the people, I am only telling you what Allah has said. I don’t want to be famous or rich. The only thing I ask from you is that you love my family, the Ahlulbayt. Before he died, the Prophet gathered the people in a place called Ghadeer and told them that Imam Ali (as) would be their leader after him. He also told them to make sure they always follow two very important things: the Quran and the Ahlulbayt. Connect two key rings to each other and label them accordingly. No matter how hard you pull, you cannot separate the two rings. In the same way, the Prophet and his family the Ahlulbayt are connected to the Quran. They cannot be separated - we need to follow both. The Quran gives us instructions on how to behave and the Ahlulbayt show us how to follow Allah's rules in everything we do.

Activity by Teaching Young Muslims

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Live Like the Prophet (SAW) We can learn lots of things about how the Prophet lived from hadith. A hadith is something that tells us what the Prophet said or did. When we love someone, we try to find out everything about them! We want to copy them and do everything they do! We want to eat like them, dress like them, talk like them and be like them! The Prophet is our role model who we love and want to be like in every way. The children can draw/stick images of the objects as a visual of the hadith, and how they can be implemented daily.

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Hadith Object Bag Fill a bag with objects/images associated with chosen hadith. When he spoke, he would smile. He loved perfume and his hands were always beautifully fragranced. He drank water in sips. Raisins were one of his favourite foods. He always brushed his teeth at least twice a day. He always wore his right shoe before the left shoe. He was always the first to greet others. Have the children sit in a circle and take turns to pull out an object. See if they can guess how it relates to the Prophet! Discuss the hadith and how we can implement it into our lives.

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Kindness of the Prophet (SAW) Imagine that everyone carries an invisible bucket. You feel happy and good when your bucket is full and sad when your bucket is empty. When you say or do something kind to others, you fill their bucket with happiness and your bucket too! It feels great! When you do something wrong and have bad manners, you dip into the bucket and take out some of the good feelings. By upsetting people, we empty their bucket and our own. We both feel sad. All day long, we are either filling up or dipping into each other’s buckets by what we say and do. Prophet Muhammad was the best bucket filler! He taught and showed us why it’s so important to have good manners and to think of others. You feel good when you help others feel good. By being a bucket filler, you can make your home, your school and your world a better place.

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Be A Bucket Filler Make a craft bucket using a paper cup and decorate/label. You could also use a glass and pompoms to visually display the bucket filling concept. Give one child an empty glass/bucket and ask how this child must be feeling. Have each of the other children in turn say something or suggest what they could do to help fill the bucket. Place a pompom for each. At the same time, place a pompom in each compliment-givers' glass as well, to show how doing good to others fills both buckets, theirs included! Continue the concept by encouraging other bucket filling activities to be done during the week, such as acts of kindness for others, writing thank you notes, helping, picking litter, giving charity and giving compliments. Each time a child demonstrates good manners, praise and reinforce the bucket filling principle. When the bucket is full, reward as you wish.

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Manners of the Prophet (SAW) The Prophet was troubled by a lot of people who didn’t want to listen to him. They would put thorns in his path, throw rubbish on him and call him horrible names, but Prophet Muhammad always showed the best manners and continued to treat the people well. The qualities of the Prophet are an example for us to learn from and demonstrate. Brainstorm and write down words that remind us and describe the beautiful character of the Holy Prophet. Look through suitable magazines for words from the list or others that may have been missed. The magazines can also be filtered by tearing out pages to search through. For younger children, hand them a page where a word is present for them to locate. Use the opportunity to question and discuss why the character of the Prophet is associated with a particular word, along with examples. Compile the words into a collage.

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Smile One of the easiest ways to spread kindness is to smile! The Holy Prophet always spoke with a smile. He said that smiling is charity! Put a pencil between the teeth not letting it touch the lips. Science shows that if you do this for 3 mins, you release hormones from the brain that make you feel good! When you smile, you feel good. When others see you smile, they feel good too! So smiling at someone is like giving them a gift by sharing your happiness. Draw a large smiley face or use a smile balloon and place in a prominent place as a reminder to "Be like the Prophet" and ask yourself "have I made someone smile today?"

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Follow the Prophet (SAW)

Laqad kana lakum fi rasoolilahi uswatun hasanah In the Messenger of Allah, you have the most beautiful example (33:21) Allah has sent the Prophet to us as an example and role model to copy and be like, so that we can have the best of manners. Spend the week leading up to the birth of the Holy Prophet by emulating his beautiful example. Each day, pick a Quranic verse and talk about how the Prophet showed this behaviour in his life. Practise living the Quran in your day, and follow in the footsteps of the Prophet.

Download and print 7 day plan: In the Footsteps of the Prophet

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Day 1 I Do Not Waste Quran Verse Do not waste, La tusrifu (7:31) Hadith "Do not waste even water at a running stream." The Prophet used to repair his own shoes and patch and mend his own clothes! Practise it! Turn off tap between brushing, wudhu, washing up Shorter showers Give leftover water to plants Switch off lights Recycle Activity Suggestions Make a recycled junk model Melt broken crayon to make new ones or to make a candle Make paper or watch a video to see how paper is recycled and made

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Day 2 I Eat Good Food Quran Verse Eat of the good food, Kuloo min tayyibati (2:172) The Prophet ate nutritious food. Some of his favourites were dates, pomegranates and raisins. Practise it! Spend the day eating healthily – no junk allowed! Try to eat some of the foods mentioned in the Quran Activity Suggestions Learn about some of the foods mentioned in the Quran Can you eat a rainbow today? Make date balls/granola bars

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Day 3 I Am Helpful Quran Verse Be a helper of Allah, Koonoo ansarallah (61:14) Hadith “The best people are those who are the most useful to others.” Practise it! Visit neighbours, smile, call family, visit sick, be kind to animals, litter picking Activity Suggestions Read stories about the kindness of the Prophet Make a badge with the words, "Can I help?" Have the child wear it and spend the day finding ways to be of service and spreading acts of kindness.

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Day 4 I Am Thankful Quran Verse Be thankful to Allah, Ooshkurullaha (2:172) Hadith “No act of worship is better than giving thanks." The Prophet would always be heard praising and thanking Allah. He would spend the night praying "How can I not be a grateful servant?" Practise it! Write thank you letters Visit and gift community helpers Activity Suggestions Write/draw/take photos to capture the blessings of the day.

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Day 5 I Am Clean And Tidy Quran Verse Allah loves those who are clean, Allahu yuhibbul mutahireen (9:108) Hadith “Islam has been built on cleanliness.” The Prophet kept a bowl of water by his door. He looked into his reflection before going out, to make sure his appearance was neat. He spent more money on perfume than food and his scent filled air! He also brushed his teeth frequently. Practise it! Clean room, cut nails, put perfume, comb hair Always check appearance before going out Activity Suggestions Make a chart to help keep the house clean Always brush teeth morning and night Egg/Vinegar experiment to demonstrate the effect of sugar on teeth

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Day 6 I Talk To Allah Quran Verse Call Me, Oodoonee (40:60) Hadith “Remembrance of God is like polish for the heart.” Practise it! Spot opportunities and encourage talking to Allah throughout the day Pray for everyone using your prayer hand/wheel Activity Suggestions Make a prayer wheel Look at the index of Prophetic Duas: the Prophet would make dua when: waking up, entering the bathroom, wearing clothes, leaving home – he made at every point in the day!

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Day 7 I Am Good To My Parents Quran Verse Be good to your parents, Wa bil walidayni ihsaana (17:23) Hadith “After listening to Allah comes goodness to parents.” Practise it! Can you manage to say "Yes" with a smile to everything your parents ask you to do today?! Activity Suggestions Learn the Quranic dua for parents and make it a habit to recite it Ask your parents what they would like help with – tell them you are at their service today! Spend time talking to them

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Celebrate the Prophet Hold a celebration in remembrance of the birth of the Holy Prophet. Use the opportunity to: have the children share what they have learnt about the Prophet, gift lots of salawaats together and play games that recap and open up discussion about the Prophet, his life and the manners we must try our best to copy.

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Balloon Banner Quiz Help children learn and recap the life of the Prophet in a celebratory way! Fill each balloon with a question and tie them onto a string banner. Have the child pop each one to release the rolled up question paper. To add to the noise and mess, reward the correct answer with a party popper! Quiz Questions: What date and month was the Prophet born in? What was the year called? Where was the Prophet born? Who was the mother/father/wife/daughter of the Prophet? How old was the Prophet when he lost both his parents? Who looked after the Prophet when his parents died? What was the name of the Prophet's cousin who he grew up with and was very close to? What work did the Prophet do when he was young? The Prophet was always honest and was also known as? Where was the Prophet when Angel Jibrael came to him with a special message? How old was he when he became a Prophet? Which book was revealed to the Prophet? What was the first word of the Quran revealed to the Prophet? Why did Allah send us the Prophet? What three things can we do to live like the Prophet? What kind of manners must we show if we want to copy the Prophet? What did the Prophet ask us to do in return for all the years he spent teaching us? At Ghadeer, what important message did the Prophet give the people? When did the Prophet die? Where is the Prophet buried?

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Salawaat Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is so special and so loved by Allah, that Allah and the angels send their blessings on the Holy Prophet. We are told by Allah in the Qur’an (33:56) to do the same. Whenever we hear the Prophet's name, we recite the salwaat as taught to us by the Holy Prophet himself. It is also one of the best tasbeehs we can do. We love the Prophet and his family and by reciting salawaat, it is like sending the Prophet a gift to say thank you for being such an amazing teacher for us to learn from. In return Allah showers us with extra blessings too! For our duas to be accepted and heard quickly, we must sandwich them with a salawaat at the beginning and end. This shows us just how important reciting salawaat is and how amazing the Prophet and his family must be!

Set a timer to ring at a set interval throughout the day. With every alarm, stop what you're doing to recite a loud salawaat and have the Angels take it as a gift to the Prophet. You can also encourage the recitation of salawaat while sitting at mosque by using stickers.

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Sweet Blessings Decorate a sweet jar and try to fill it with as many sweets you as can by reciting salawaat over each one! Eat and share out the sweets on the Prophet's birthday :) Gift some sweets as a milad party favour to encourage the recitation of salawaat by filling the jar. Encourage children to maintain a habit of reciting salawaat daily. By reciting salawat, it not only brings us lots of blessings, but it also helps us to remember what a great man the Holy Prophet was. We are very blessed to have such an amazing role model and the most excellent example. We must follow him to reach closer to Allah.

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Pass the Parcel Adapt the Hadith Object Bag activity to play pass the parcel. Stick an image of a Sunnah action onto each layer of wrapping. Play a nasheed and pass the parcel until it stops. Unwrap to reveal the picture and explain how the action is related to the Prophet. Simple favour bags filled with token reminders of the Prophetic Sunnah can be given out.

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Build A Mosque Game Prepare game cards for each child by drawing a mosque outline. Number each section 1-6. Trace over the template and cut out the corresponding shapes onto different pieces of card. Have the children roll the dice in turn and place the appropriate piece onto their board. The winner is the first child to build a mosque!

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Resources Islam From The Start Blog Creative ideas to learn, love and live the Quran www.islamfromthestart.com The Holy Prophet Illustrated short stories for little readers By Tahera Kassamali Eating Like The Prophet 40 Prophetic Traditions in Rhyming English By Moin Uddin Khan Stories of Our Prophet By Morteza Daneshmand The Holy Prophet Workbook By Tahera Kassamali Let us Learn about Prophet Muhammad By QFatima Stories from the life of the Prophet Online Collection

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